After everyone left, King Chen sat in Chencheng, waiting for good news. One day, Cai Ci said to King Chen: "General Ge Ying has made outstanding military achievements and has a distinguished reputation since he served as the vanguard of the expedition against Qin, but his position is lower than that of other generals. Now he should be worshiped as the general of the Western Conquest." King Chen said He sent people to confer the title of Ge Ying, and asked Lu Chen to serve as a guard in front of the palace, commanding the capital's troops and horses to protect the capital.
Ge Ying conquered the Qin Dynasty, and good news came frequently along the way. County Governor Li Dan led an army to encircle and suppress him, but Ge Ying refused to fight him. Instead, he bypassed Chen County, suddenly attacked Zhe County, captured the city, and quickly advanced westward to conquer Xiangyi. The rebel army fought with victorious victories all the way and advanced rapidly. The army was approaching Yongqiu City.
The magistrate of Yongqiu County heard that the rebels were attacking and ordered the soldiers and civilians to fight. The county magistrate Yan Yan said: "My lord, the rebels are coming south with overwhelming force. Wherever they pass, they are threatened by the wind. In this situation, we should open the city to surrender in order to save our lives. If we resist, everyone will die without a burial place." !" The county magistrate asked why in surprise. Yan Yan said: "The court's implementation of tyrannical politics has long lost the support of the people. Why should we help the tyranny?" The county magistrate said angrily: "The enemy is currently facing us. When you say such things, do you want to join forces with the traitors to rebel?" He gave the order. Yan Yan was pushed out and beheaded. Other officials begged for mercy. Yan Yancai was beaten fifty times and put in prison.
At this time, an official came to report that Ge Ying was already shouting and fighting outside the city. The county magistrate asked: "Who dares to fight?" The school captain Jin Bi replied: "I am willing to fight." He put on his horse, picked up his halberd and rushed out of the city. The county magistrate quickly went to the city to watch. As soon as he arrived at the city, he reported that Jin Bi had been beheaded by Ge Ying. The county magistrate was shocked. Seeing that Ge Ying was majestic and still challenging, he shouted angrily at him: "Those who rebel against the country, why don't you surrender as soon as possible?" Ge Ying said with a smile: "The world has suffered from the rule of the violent Qin for too long. I I have been ordered by Xiang Yan to save the people of the world. Everywhere the army has passed has surrendered, but you are so overestimating your own capabilities?" The county magistrate was furious and asked Li Long, the county lieutenant, to fight. Li Long cheered up and went out to fight. At this moment, Yan Yan led a dozen of his trusted men and rushed forward. They walked up to the county magistrate, put their knives on their necks and said, "Guan Guan, the second generation is extremely cruel. We are in danger, so why don't you respond to the rebels?" To protect yourself?" After saying that, he chopped him down with a knife. At this time, someone had already opened the city gate to let the rebels enter the city. Li Long saw the incident in the city and had nowhere to escape, so he committed suicide in front of the battle. Ge Ying led an army to attack the city, made Yan Yan the magistrate of Yongqiu County, took over government affairs, and then abolished all laws of Qin.
Suddenly it was reported that Li Dan, the governor of the county, led his troops to suppress the attack. Ge Ying smiled and said: "The old thief was indeed fooled." At that time, he ordered all the generals to stand firm and not fight. Everyone asked strangely: "The general is armored, strong and invincible. Now he hears that the county guard is coming and he avoids fighting. Is he afraid of him?" Ge Ying said: "It's not fear, but waiting for news. I predict that in three days The county guard will withdraw, and when the time comes to pursue him again, he will be completely victorious." The generals were half-convinced. On the third day, Li Dan really broke out and retreated. It turned out that he had received the news that Chen Jun had been captured by Chen Sheng. He was angry and wanted to take back the county. Ge Ying then led the rebel army to pursue him with all his strength. The county guard was defeated miserably. He hit his horse and ran westward. Someone shouted: "Shoot the old thief!" Then thousands of arrows were fired. It turned out to be Ge Ying's army who had ambushed him in advance. The county guard was so distraught that he shouted and fell from his horse after being hit by an arrow. The rest of the Qin army surrendered. The rebels captured a lot of loot and won a great victory.
Ge Ying withdrew his troops into the city and was discussing matters with the soldiers in the afternoon. Suddenly someone reported that the governor of Dang County also came to suppress him. When he chased him into Xiangyi, he was shot to death by another ambushing army. The rebels also attacked Dang County. Ge Ying was very happy and explained to everyone: "I had expected this result a long time ago. When I left Tuoxian County, in order to prevent the governor of Dang from pursuing me, I sent two thousand crossbowmen to ambush in the dense forest south of the city. When the guards arrived there, they must have been outnumbered and unprepared, but they were suddenly shot and killed by my ambush soldiers. How could they be undefeated?" After hearing this, the soldiers all admired Ge Ying's strategy. From then on, Chen and Dang counties were completely occupied by the rebels.
Ge Ying held a grand celebration banquet in Yongqiu, and three elders and celebrities congratulated him in unison: "The general armed himself with strong weapons and fought against the ruthless Qin State. He pacified Dang County and allowed Chen Sheng to attack Chen County. He has made great contributions. You should be the king!" Ge Ying said in surprise: "I was ordered by General Chen to avenge the people of Chu State. I did it with passion and my purpose was to restore the ancestral heritage of Chu State. How can I call myself the king?" The three elders said He could only say: "If the general is not greedy for wealth and honor, why doesn't he look for the descendants of the King of Chu to become the king? If so, the people of Chu will be inspired by the king's order to fight against the powerful Qin, and the nobles of the six countries will also take advantage of the opportunity. When the country is restored, you will be as famous as Guan Zhong, Sun Shuao, Fan Li and others, and your name will surely go down in history!"
Ge Ying sighed: "The strong Qin Dynasty has not yet been destroyed, and the war has just begun. I just hope that everyone can work together to eradicate the tyranny at this time. There is no other plan!" The three elders said: "Since ancient times, the hegemony of kings has been for fame and wealth. , and you should not seek profit for yourself, but also think about the common people. Imagine that all the heroes in the world rise up against Qin, who will be the master of the Six Kingdoms in the future? Besides, how can a general conquer the masses with just the title of vanguard?" Ge Ying After listening to everyone's words, they were silent. After a long time, they said again: "This matter should be discussed in the long term." The three elders said again: "Twenty miles outside the city, there is a man named Xiang Qiang. I heard that he is Chu Descendants of the king. Please send someone to verify, general. If Xiang Qiang is really a descendant of the king of Chu, please welcome him as the king of Chu, so that the general can legitimately command the three armies." Ge Ying hesitated and said: "Welcome to the throne. The King of Chu still needs to discuss this matter with General Chen." The three elders said disapprovingly: "Chen Sheng is just an ordinary person, the general is far more resourceful than him, why should we discuss it with him?" Ge Ying remained silent.
Seeing that Ge Ying was undecided, the three elders encouraged the people in the city to come to the government office and ask Ge Ying to welcome Xiang Qiang as King of Chu. Seeing that the people were sincere, Ge Ying agreed to the matter. Ge Ying then took Xiang Qiang to Xiangyi. After verification, he was indeed a descendant of the King of Chu, so he crowned him King of Chu. After Xiang Qiang became the king of Chu, he named Ge Ying a general and led the Chu army to attack Qin. While Ge Ying was reorganizing his army and horses, he sent someone to report to Chen Cheng.
Before Ge Ying went out to fight, Zhou Wen's army had already arrived at the city. Zhou Wen was overjoyed when he saw the flag of Chu on the top of the city. He thought that he already knew the news about Chen Sheng becoming king, so he went into the city to meet him. After the two met, Ge Ying said: "The general's name is like thunder. I am very happy to meet you today!" After that, he invited Zhou Wen to visit the King of Chu. Zhou Wen asked: "Who is the King of Chu?" Ge Ying told him about the request of the three elders and the people to establish Xiangqiang as the King of Chu. Zhou Wen was very surprised when he heard this and told Chen Sheng that he was king. After Ge Ying heard this, he was stunned. Zhou Wendao said: "The general's approach is indeed hasty. Why didn't you ask King Chen for instructions and established the king yourself?" Ge Ying immediately decided to explain to the people here first, and then depose the King of Chu. Cancel the title and go to apologize to King Chen.
Unexpectedly, the people complained: "Chen Sheng is just an ordinary person, how can he be a king?" Ge Ying persuaded everyone with good words. When Xiang Qiang learned what happened, he burst into tears. He couldn't bear the sudden blow for a while, so he hanged himself. At this time, King Chen's envoy also arrived in Xiangyi, and he named Ge Ying the general of the expedition to the west. After Ge Ying sent the envoy away, he said to Zhou Wen: "Since ancient times, there have been no two kings in the country. I was confused for a moment, so I appointed Xiang Qiang as the king of Chu. If King Chen knows about it and blames him, what should I do?" Zhou Wen He said: "The general has given up on the King of Chu, so don't worry about it. Now you should attack Daliang with me. If you have outstanding military exploits, the king will not blame you."
The next day, when the army was about to set off, it was suddenly announced that King Chen's envoy had arrived. It turned out that King Chen already knew about Ge Ying's appointment as King of Chu and was very angry, so he sent an envoy to summon Ge Ying back to Chencheng. Ge Ying had no choice but to hand over the military power to Zhou Wen and prepare to go back. At this time, all the soldiers came together to stop him and said, "King Chen must punish you. Please don't go back, general." Ge Ying said, "I led hundreds of thousands of troops to wipe out the Qin State. Because everyone was confused about what they meant. It was my fault that I established the King of Chu! But I am aboveboard, and establishing the King was not my original intention. If I don’t explain it clearly to King Chen and eliminate the misunderstanding, I will destroy the great cause of destroying Qin." So he handed over the military power to Zhou Wen, and he only He took several followers to Chencheng to plead guilty.
Ge Ying came to Chencheng and imitated the story of "bearing a thorn to plead guilty" and carried a thorn stick to see King Chen. When King Chen saw Ge Ying, he immediately ordered him to be taken down and beheaded. Cai Ci and Wang Zhi were shocked and advised together: "In the past, the king of Chu killed his ministers and Duke Wen was happy. Now that the Qin Dynasty has not been destroyed, it is the time for the country to employ people, and the king kills the wise and resourceful people first. This must be his relatives." It hurts the enemy, but the enemy is quick!" King Chen was very angry and said: "The matter of establishing a king is not a trivial matter, but he didn't ask me for instructions. Does he still have me in his heart? This man is treasonous, how can he establish his authority without killing? Lu Qing and Kong Kun also dissuaded each other: "We have already asked clearly. The Xiangqiang he established is indeed a descendant of the King of Chu, and the people all support it. But General Ge Ying gave up when he heard that the king had become the King of Chu. He killed Xiang Qiang and came to plead guilty in person. His behavior was so upright. How could your Majesty kill him?" King Chen was very angry and said: "Xiang Qiang is a descendant of King Chu. My surname is Chen, and he is a descendant of Shun. Now that Chen Cheng is the capital, isn't his name unjust and unjust? But he goes behind the back of others and establishes another king of Chu. He dares to make the decision on such a big matter. How can he convince the public if he doesn't kill him? If you try to persuade him, you will become his accomplice!" So he refused to listen to the advice of the officials and asked the warriors to take Ge Ying out. Ge Ying sighed: "You brought it upon yourself, so why complain? I only regretted that Qin Dynasty was not destroyed, but died on the way. What a pity!" After saying this, he was killed with hatred at the age of thirty-nine. King Chen killed Ge Ying and ordered Zhou Wen to take over Ge Ying's army and continue to advance the army. Ge Ying's soldiers were very sad when they heard that Ge Ying had died. Later generations wrote a poem that said:
The bad news made the soldiers cry. Who should be the commander if Ruoding?
It was embarrassing to appoint another queen of Chu, which caused a disaster that was difficult to recover.
